


Orion

by ASSphyxiate_My_Soul



Category: Borderlands
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, additional tags later - Freeform, rated for later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-06-02 06:45:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6555811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASSphyxiate_My_Soul/pseuds/ASSphyxiate_My_Soul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What did he get himself into? How is Rhys going to keep the most hated man on Pandora off the radar AND run Atlas, which is receiving more and more attention  as time goes by. Why is it that when all his dreams seem to be coming true, that he’s thrown into a nightmare that spirals down. Let’s hope it’s not forming a pattern.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Work For Me Now

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a larger project. A mix of writing and art. The beginning to this can be found in the link below. Mostly comic and three other written parts. Start at the end and scroll backwards. I'm still working out tumblr, but I will make a master post eventually. 
> 
> First part: http://asphyxiate-my-soul.tumblr.com/tagged/orion
> 
> And my tumblr is asphyxiate-my-soul

If Jack had wanted anything else from the ruins of his office, asides from the picture of his daughter, he never said so. Nearly everything was destroyed in the crash and he probably couldn't find it. Or he really did just risk Athena taking back her decision to be merciful, for the sake of an old photo.

It wasn't like Rhys had children of his own to lose. He had a basic idea of the sort of relationship they had, based on what the AI had told him all those months ago, but he knew better than to ask the real Jack about it. Besides, what mattered most at this time was not contemplating Jack and his parenting skills, but rather to get him back to what remained of the Helios base, to the med bay where he could patch up the reopened wound before he bled out. Luckily, he wasn't bleeding as bad as he had been when they came back through the vault door. Because if it had been worse, Rhys wasn't sure what he would have done. He wasn't exactly a medical genius. Anything more than wrapping a bandage around it and making him swallow some antibiotics, and Rhys would have been lost. 

And maybe, just maybe, he could do it all in time to pass it off as Jack just having gone to the bathroom or something. Athena wouldn't be in a rage, and they could all just have a quiet, non argumentative night. Naturally, if Rhys planned it out, ofcourse it was bound to go sideways at some point. This point being when he rounded a corner, almost to Jack's current room, when he bumped into Athena. Physically bumped into her. You could hear the thud of his fragile frame against her tank of a body, the limitless muscles clashing like a crescendo. Ok... maybe not that dramatic.... Or loud. But Rhys felt like she might kill him with that look. And all Jack gave was a meagre chuckle as he continued to use Rhys as a support. If he wasn't injured, Rhys would drop him. Or he told himself he would have. He didn't know if he actually would have. 

“Heeey, Athena... I, uh.... I found Jack, so you don't need to look so ready to execute someone anymore... Call of the hunt... or... whatever.” Rhys said, unable to hold eye contact with her. She just stared, still as angry and intimidating as she had been before, making Rhys feel small and insegnificant. Considering he was actually very tall and definitely significant now because he ran a company and wore nice suits and was doing... stuff. 

“You're bleeding.” She said after a while. And at first he assumed she saw the bit of Jack's blood that had gotten on his shirt. But it was pretty obvious it was Jacks, based on the small patch slowly growing on his Jumper. But the gladiator so helpfully gestured to the source of her concern, Rhys shoulder, between the port for his arm, and the crook of his neck. He couldn't really see it without a mirror, but it wasn't hurting much worse than it had been since his shower earlier. 

“Oh... right. I'll get this fixed as soon as I get Jack back to the med bay.” The cyborg smiled nervously, though it was an attempt at reassuring her that everything was fine and under control. 

“It's not fine. It's the reason I told you to stay behind. We can't-”

“Jesus, it's fine. Everything is under control, ok.” Rhys chuckled and waved her off with his mechanical arm, feeling a slight surge of confidence due to the irritation. What was she, his mother? Ofcourse Jack was getting some sort of entertainment out of this, chuckling the whole way, almost like he was delirious, though Rhys reckoned he was just overtired. 

Athena didn't speak anymore, but she didn't leave either, instead coming up and taking Jack from Rhys, supporting the old Hyperion CEO instead. She didn't give Rhys much of a chance to argue, kind of shoving him out of the way, but not really in a hostile manner. Jack didn't say a word. So either he had actually passed out, was close to it, or shut up because it was apparent he might just die if he said the wrong thing. Wasn't like that had stopped him before though. Either way, Rhys still tagged along, just to be sure she wasn't dragging him off to the chopping block. 

Thankfully, she took them right back to the room Jack had been in before, immediately setting him down in the bed, and stepping back. She really didn't like him. Fiona and Timothy were already there, First aid kits and such at the ready. When Athena took a post against the wall, Timothy moved to Jack's side, removing his bandage and getting to work cleaning it up. Jack was still awake and let out a few choice words when the doppleganger began to clean the wound up with alcohol. 

Thankfully, Rhys didn't need to focus on any more of Jack's nonsense tonight. He himself was ready to pass out. But instead of being able to leave, he was pulled over and pushed down to sit in a rather uncomfortable chair. Maybe because it was a metal fold up chair, and his body was crying out for a comfy mattress, and pillows and blankets. 

“C'mon Rhys. Shirt off. Can't do much if you're just staring into space like that.” Fiona addressed him, 

“Pfft, you guys are prepared. Little bird tell you we were coming?” Rhys jibbed, but removed his shirt as asked, figuring bed would come much faster if he complied. 

“In a way. August and Sasha saw you two coming. Saw some blood, but figured you two weren't in any trouble. So they told Athena, who called everyone back in, and then she told us to make sure we had everything ready.”

Fiona flashed him a grin before looking at his shoulder. She gave him the same treatment that Timothy gave Jack. Cleaning and a new bandage. He knew it wasn't that big of a deal. And still everyone caused a fuss over it. 

He zoned out while she worked, enjoying the silence and the fact that he had a few moments where he wasn't required to care. That is until, Fiona thought conversation was necessary and broke the silence. 

“Nice tattoos.” She spoke, gesturing to the blue colouring over his chest and left arm. “You're not secretly a siren are you?” She passed it off as joking, but there was a look of worry in her eyes. Sirens didn't have the best reputation on Pandora, and the only two known to still be alive on the planet lived in Sanctuary. 

“ 'Course he's not a siren. Look at those tattoos! They're too precise. Siren tattoos have a mind of their own.” Jack spoke up, looking over from the bed, though he looked and sounded drowsy, probably from something Tim gave him to help him sleep. 

“I'm not a Siren.” Rhys said, to Fiona mostly. He wasn't up for talking with Jack. “I'm too tired to talk about it. And besides, Sirens are only women.”

“That we know of. OR, insert dramatic gasp, you could be the first male Siren.” The con artist snickered, and Rhys rolled his eyes. Yeah right. If he was a siren, he'd phase shut her up. That's what. 

Atlast! Fiona was done. Rhys put his shirt back on, making a mental note to change it when he got to his little room. Fiona and Timothy left, Jack since long passed out during the talking, his double definitely having given him something to sedate him. All that was left was Athena, who decided for some reason that she needed to walk Rhys to his room. She said nothing the entire time, until they reached the door and she stopped him. 

“Rhys.”

“Uh... yes. That's my name.”

She scowled at him lightly, and he had to remind himself that she wasn't the best with words. Or people. Or anything that wasn't her sword and shield. 

“What do you think is going to happen with Jack? Do you think he'll stay here? That we'll devote our time and effort into watching him. Keep him in check and keep him safe.”

“No. I don't think anyone wants to play babysitter. But can we please talk about this in the morning.” Come on Athena. If you move, a little to the left, Rhys could open the door, step in, and fall onto his bed. He was so close!!!

“We need to talk about it now. Because most of us are leaving in the morning. It's just going to be you, Vaughn and Yvette watching over a manipulative psychopath. How well do you think that'll go?”

Wow, way to hit him in the heart with anxiety and instant thoughts about what Jack was capable of and what he would do to everyone here if he got the chance. He already believed that Jack was manipulating him in some sense. But bringing his two closest friends into the equation really hit home. 

“... I don't know Athena. I really want to assure you that things will be fine... but I'm tired, and this is making my head hurt. So... if you have a bigger point to make, then make it. It's my job to play around with words and things. Yours is for bullets and things. So... can we please just trade jobs back or something....” Oh god, he was just saying anything that came to mind now. But he was looking forward to not being at the receiving end of pain for a while. A LONG WHILE. 

It took a moment, but eventually Athena cracked a smile and sighed, scratching the back of her head. 

“Sorry... I... Just don't want anything to happen. I understand why you stood up for him before, but we all know what he can do.” She spoke, before folding her arms. It wasn't intimidating, more so, relaxed, showing just enough that Rhys could see she was just as tired as he was. “I suggest that you go back to Atlas tomorrow morning. Take Jack with you. You won't be alone. You'll have Cassius with you. Gortys and that... Loader Bot? Well I'm pretty sure that they'll follow you too. The Bot seems to think you'll die if he isn't there to catch you when you trip over yourself, and Gortys will follow him wherever he goes.”

“Wait... so... instead of keeping Jack here, where there are a couple of hundred Hyperion survivors who hate his guts and will watch him like a hawk, you want him at a minimally staffed Atlas base, watched by me and two robots.”

“.... Three robots.” 

“Three...? Oh.... OH! No. No that is not happening!”

\---

“HELLOOOOOOO NEW MINION!”

“GET OUT OF THE CAR!!!”  
“BUT WE'RE GOING ON A ROAD TRIP!”

“I swear to god, if you had a throat you dumb robot....”

As entertaining as it was to watch Jack burst several dozen veins at the presence of the ClapTrap unit, Rhys could tell it was going to wear thin really quickly. Why would Athena do this to him. Fiona, August and Sasha had already left, taking Tim along with them, to watch him for everyone's piece of mind. But with his freckles and longer hair, they could pass him off as someone other than Handsome Jack. That and he was too nice to be Jack. Too well mannered and compliant. Jack on the other hand was refusing to get in the car. Vaughn and Yvette were still standing with Rhys, having said their goodbye's for now about three times in the time that Jack spent trying to get Claptrap out of the car. LB was sitting in the driver's seat, still as a statue and waiting to go, while Gortys, who was perched beside him, chattered on, simply ignoring what was going on behind them. And ofcourse Athena and Janey hadn't left yet, because the gladiator wanted to make sure Rhys took both of them. 

He had asked her why it was necessary to take Claptrap along. Sure so what if he was an accomplished robot who hunts vaults, shoots down trains and somehow survives the end of his product line. He was annoying. And his voice scraped at the back of Rhys' skull, making him glad that he wasn't driving. Or he might crash the car on purpose. Hopefully he would get used to the robot in time. 

After about another ten or so minutes of the back and forth friendly commentary versus the murderous threats and demands, Rhys sighed and waved Vaughn and Yvette goodbye one last time. He'd see them again soon. But this was his problem to deal with now. He approached the car and climbed in beside Gortys and LB, before turning to face Jack who was still outside of the car and fuming. 

“Jack, just get in the car. You know Athena will shoot you if you stay behind.” 

The elder male shot him a glare, obviously torn between death... and Claptrap. Both were terrible. One was quieter. The other, was less dead. Apparently he was not completely convinced getting in the car was the best option, but it did stop him from yelling. Did he think staring Rhys down would work? In another day and age, perhaps. If that day and age were a few months ago. But right now Rhys just wanted to go home. So he didn't grant Jack the satisfaction of a stare off. Instead he turned away, getting settled in his seat. Moments later, he heard Jack climb in behind him, settling himself beside Claptrap and Cassius in a much more unsettled manner than Rhys. But atleast he was in the car now. Claptrap was still rambling on though... so that sucked. 

And with that, LB started the engine, and they were off. Once again, Rhys left his friends behind. Atleast this time he wasn't completely alone. 

With the rate LB was driving, and the fact that there was no traffic, and sometimes even no road, they would be back at the Atlas base by nightfall. And when Claptrap eventually stopped talking and resorted to either complete silence or the occasional chat with Gortys, Rhys could relax, and even enjoy the passing scenery Pandora had to offer. It was some time in the afternoon, that he knew they were getting close, purely because the air was getting colder.

And boy, when the sun set and it was starting to get REALLY cold, was Rhys ever thankful when the walls of the base became visible. The base looked a lot like it had when he and the others had found it all those months ago. But fixed up. The gardens were tended to, the more volatile plants removed and placed in the part of the facility closed off from the average workers and others. The docile and harmless plants were still in the entrance to the facility however. Making for an appealing welcome. The glass of the dome was completely fixed now, pulsing with a soft orange glow, powered by a basic shield. No smashing through this glass. 

There were a few guards stationed around, obviously mercs Rhys was paying to watch the place, but atleast they were presented with some kind of professionalism, instead of thrown together bandit mercs. And clearly Rhys had still been managing their payments while he'd been gone, because they hadn't abandoned post. Jack figured they weren't from Pandora, especially since when they saw him, they hardly reacted. Hell to them, he was probably more akin to a bandit. He really could do with a less bloody change of clothes. 

“Come on, I'll show you where you'll be staying.” Rhys said, getting out of the car once LB parked it, gesturing for Jack to follow him. Which he did ofcourse, because it meant leaving Claptrap and that creepy old guy behind. Up some sleek stairs illuminated by soft white floor lights, and through a set of several doors, each locked and requiring pass codes, all of which Rhys input without the need to access the control panel. Must have been handy to just look at them. Jack supposed the younger male could access any room he wanted here, even the residential ones, though he seriously doubted Rhys went into other people's rooms for the fun of it. Pity. Would make for some great pranks. Lethal or non lethal depended on the mood of the day. 

Rhys led him along a hall that skirted the entire edge of the main building, Rooms and such off to one side, and a wall of glass and steal overlooking the garden below. Currently in construction above the garden, and about two floors above them, was something that Jack supposed must have been a foyer or something. A large floor. That's pretty much all he could tell. Maybe it would make more sense when it was done, and then ofcourse maybe he could figure out how people were supposed to get up there. Either way it was huge. 

Eventually though, his attention was brought else where, as Rhys stopped by a simple door and opened it, ofcourse with only a glance. Jack knew he was right. But that also meant he would have to let him know on the off chance he had any lady visitors. He doubted it, but on the off chance, he didn't want to risk it. Wait... did that mean he'd have to alert Rhys to whenever he was getting changed, or masturbating, or watching cat videos? Because they were the three worst things to be caught doing. 

“So, here. This will be your room for now. I'll get a key and some basics sorted for you in a minute. You have your own bathroom, but at the moment, we have one kitchen facility and no cook. So it's up to you to cook something for yourself when you're hungry. Also, LB will be watching you, but also acting like a body guard, so if anyone tries anything, we have that covered. I'll give you a few days to settle in, but then I'm going to run a few tests on your skills and then figure out where I can put you to work.” 

Jack raised a brow. Was this kid for real? He was giving him a job? Wait... he had to ask. Just to be sure. “This is... paid work right?”

“Hm? Yes. But I can't officially employ Handsome Jack. Vaughn and Yvette will be here in a month or so, and will help forge some files, change your identity and stuff.”

“Yeah... ok, but why pay me at all. S'not like I can go anywhere pumpkin.” 

“It's Rhys. And I'll be paying you because that's the right thing to do. You can order anything you want over the echo net. Most of the employees send their money home, so I don't know what you'll do with-”

“Yeah... ok, I don't actually care about any of that. It's just really weird that I'm being.... forcefully employed by someone who used to work for me. Kinda... funny actually.”

Rhys just looked at him, apparently not finding it very funny at all. 

“... Anyway, I'm going to go and get back to my work, sort some things out. I'll be by later with your key.”

“Wait... Kid... uh, Rhys....” Rhys stopped in his tracks, having been turning to leave. It was always an odd experience, when Jack changed how he spoke. One minute ago he was fine using nicknames and disregarding what other's said, now he considered Rhys' feelings about the nicknames. So something was up. Something was usually up. “I just gotta say, thanks... for everything you've done these past couple of days. By rights, I should have died a few times. And yet I'm alive, because you spoke up for me, or went out in the middle of the night, on Pandora, to drag my ass back to safety. I mean, I am no way interested in what you've got planned for me. Grunt work and shit. I haven't had to do that in years. But you're still... not letting me die or wander around this planet trying to survive. So... thanks or something.” 

“You're.... welcome. I'll see you later Jack.” Rhys said, smiling awkwardly. He wished he had something more to say, but he didn't. He felt like he just disregarded everything Jack said to him. Like it didn't matter. And the worst part was, he didn't even feel bad as he walked away. He didn't need Jack's gratitude and appraisal. He just needed him to cooperate and not waste the opportunity he had been given.


	2. The Worth of Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All he wanted was a steak.

Jack hissed, dropping the fork for the third time in a row, scowling at his bandaged fingers. He wanted his dinner god dammit, but the pain was going to stick around for a while. On the plate was steak, what kind of steak he wasn't sure. He guessed at some beef substitute. But not real cow. Who cares. He couldn't remember the last time he had steak. But it would have been nice to have some warning. Was Rhys doing this just to be a dick to him? Cutting it had been impossible and frustrating. And following that he was unable to just stab it with his fork and keep it propped up so he could take bites out of it.

The reason for his struggles was the pain in his fingers, caused by burning his fingerprints off. The pain was only supposed to last a couple of days, a week tops. But right now it was fresh. He didn't think a bunch of vault hunters would be scanning for his fingerprints, but Rhys on the other hand seemed more concerned with other corporations finding out their old rival was still alive. That atleast made sense. Jack wasn't exactly in a position to fend them off with death threats. Or bargaining if he ever did do that before. And he was pretty sure Atlas was too small to do it on his behalf. If Rhys even thought his life was worth that level of risk. 

Either way, by the time Rhys' friends arrived, he wasn't putting up a fight about letting the resident medic take a laser to his hands. He didn't know the physician perse, didn't even recognise his face a tiny bit. But it didn't need to be personal for someone to get a kick out of making Jack uncomfortable. Pretty much everyone here hated Jack, ungrateful bastards. And thanks to that, he was pretty certain that the doctor had take a little more off than he needed to.

By the time he managed to have any off his food, it had gone cold, and he had lost his appetite, not feeling at all satisfied or even victorious. Refusing to even give a defeatest sigh, he threw the steak out and discarded the plate on the bench. There was always a bunch of dirty dishes at the end of the day. But come morning, or even a latenight visit for a snack, and the dishes were cleaned and away. He supposed it was some automated system? The bench might have been mechanical. Interesting to some people, but Jack didn't really give two shits. Kitchens and what they could do wasn't exactly the centre of his interests. 

What was the centre of his interests for the past few days, was infact the old echo eye, which he had been tampering with for days. Now ofcourse, while he waited for his fingers to heal, he couldn't do even that. And Rhys would start him on that job of his any day now. Why didn't he just run? He didn't need to stay here? If he escaped, he could survive. He'd done it before, he could do it again. Athena would probably get pissed, hell... lots of people would, but it wasn't like he warranted much of a threat to anyone in his current state. 

But what exactly was here for him? He met Rhys on another world. Saw a kid that feared him, and yet needed him to return home. Or atleast believed he did. Jack still couldn't believe Timothy never let slip that the ship was dead. Jack had been sure that they would travel there for nothing. Maybe the two newcomers would die somewhere along the way, or stay with the people there. Interactions between them in that time were also minimal, but there were a few memories that stuck to him over time. The strawberry patch, real actual strawberries from the homeworld, not the manufactured kind that was developed over the centuries past. He was just being a dick, saying stupid shit with his mouth full. But he made Rhys laugh, made the kid smile. It was..... different. Nice, even. Reminded him of something he'd long forgotten. He liked to think he'd made a new friend. A good one. One he didn't need to buy into the friendship with turbo mansions and cheques. 

And the building collapsed. It was so sudden, the warning tremors brief and subtle. Jack had felt his heart stop when he'd seen Rhys caught by some debris. The metal pole piercing his shoulder. It was blood chilling. He thought for a moment that he had actually died. But when he moved, recovering from the shock of it.... relief had flooded him so fast that he felt sick. He could have left him. Saved himself. Made up some bullshit story. But he didn't. He pulled his skinny ass out of there and carried him through the crumbling ruins of the city. Rhys passed out, but still he carried him, until at long last they ran into the woman in the bus. She was the one who had helped Timothy and Jack when they had arrived. And now, did so again without question. The kindness bestowed in order to just survive was incredible. She helped him get Rhys up the stairs, into the back of the bus, where the small shack with a roof made of old blankets and sheets was the only shelter. At her hip was the medicine bag, the one that had been full of all the drugs he and Tim had swiped when they ran. The one Tim had gotten him to relinquish. She gave it to him, to help Rhys, who was pale from blood loss, and still unconscious. 

Tim wasn't there. He couldn't stop Jack if he decided he wanted to have some form of high? He'd carried this suddenly very needy asshole this whole way. Surely that was enough? Yet he didn't take a hit from the lucky dip of drugs and medicine. He dug out some antibiotics, and something that was from one of the Edens, but had a similar effect to morphine. And then, to distract himself, he tried his hand at fixing Rhys' arm. Between then and finding Timothy and Fiona, Rhys had woken up once, though was dazed, almost completely out of it, and rambling on in a lazy tone. 

He had asked Jack about his scar, tried to touch it with his real arm. Ofcourse Jack tried to divert the younger male's attention to a different topic. But he was focused on the scar. Jack was self concious of it, not only because the layer of skin was so thin that people could see the muscle underneath moving with each tiny change in his expression, or that the scar itself marred his features, but that if Rhys touched it too hard, the skin would risk splitting, and bleeding. It wasn't too painful, no more than a pinch, depending on the area affected, but it would be messy and take what would seem an age to staunch it and heal it to it's own sort of normalcy. Before he knew it, Rhys' hand was there, on his cheek, his thumb running over the scarred bit beneath his left eye, his blind side. He was utterly gentle, even in his stupor. 

It lasted a mere second, before Rhys withdrew his hand, muttering something unintelligible before dozing off again. Jack could finally relax. But he didn't want to. This was wrong. It wasn't love. That's not something Jack could do anymore. But it was the overwhelming sense of caring about another persons well being. And caring about someone else in any form, didn't benefit Jack in the slightest.

Much later, when Rhys came to him at the camp the woman brought them too, he did something he hadn't done since before he had donned the mask. He saw what was going to happen. He didn't see everything. Not aeons into the future. He saw the next few minutes, their immediate fate. If he did nothing, it would happen. They would die at the hands of bandits, even here, far away from Pandora. Their ilk seemed to linger at all corners of the galaxy. 

When he came back into focus, saw Rhys before him, he acted before the first shots rang out, pinning the younger male to a wall and shushing him, listening for it. Just as he began to doubt, he heard the fire, heard the breath catch in Rhys' throat when he heard it, realising Jack's intent was for nothing more than protection. But why shouldn't it be for more than that? Damn him, Jack mightn't have the backings of Hyperion at the moment, or anyone really, but he was still Handsome Jack. In what the boy had told him, he even knew that he had once been someone Rhys looked to as a hero. Both in the literal sense, and as a personal hero. 

Before he could contemplate on the matter anymore, they were running. Tripping. Scrambling. Anything at all to get to safety from the attack of the home world bandits. And then there was fiery pain in his side. When Rhys and Fiona helped him up, he felt both their hands at his back, and then they were swallowed by light. He remember nothing between that and waking up, chained to a med bay bed in the ruins of Helios. 

Since then, nothing from Rhys. Just the pain in his side from the bullet. The pain in his fingers from the removal of his prints. And the pain in his head from the constant shit Clap Trap spit out at him whenever he passed him. 

He thought about Rhys more than he'd have cared to admit too. Wondered what was ticking away in that mind of his. What was he up to? Why had he gone so suddenly cold to Jack? Had he done something wrong? Scratch that... what did he do to piss Rhys off specifically? 

He was entirely and utterly alone here. Even Tim was gone, sent to another location he knew nothing about. And the only person he felt he could have reached out to, avoided him like the plague. And now that his friends were here, what reason would he have to even say hello to Jack in the mornings. 

Jack understood the demands of being CEO, but the size of Atlas was minimal. At this facility, there were what appeared to be, around 30 staff, give or take. But overhearing a few scattered conversations, Jack had it figured there was a second facility. With over one hundred staff. Still not massive. But curious none the less. It wasn't like he could ask anyone. And not like any single one of them would deign to tell him what he wanted to know. And if not for his overwhelming amount of stubbornness with just the wrong measurement of pride, he might have said he was lonely. Even to himself. But naturally, he wouldn't even acknowledge that thought. 

He supposed, the only thing that kept him tied here... tied to the idea that maybe Rhys cared about him in even the tiniest way, was the single thing in his room that was not grey and clinical dreary. The photo of Angel, in a shiny new frame. Yellow, with a roughly drawn floral decal pattern, in some sort of youthful funky style in blue and pink. The note with it said it was the only yellow frame Rhys could find. 

Which meant he had looked. He had searched for a mundane object for a special purpose, in Jack's favourite colour. He had put time and effort into this, put thought into such a small thing, just for Jack. And that, probably got to Jack more than anything. Because the more time passed, the less he had Rhys figured out. And the more he wanted to figure him out. Point of fact is, it sucked to admit he was far too old to deal with these conflicting feelings. Couldn't it just be simpler? 

WHAM!

Before there could be any further contemplation on the matter, there was a blow to his head, and he was knocked off of his feet, his mind like someone who had dropped a bunch of papers and was trying to pick them up as he came back to the present day and present day problems. Jack instinctively reached up to where he had been struck, feeling the wetness of the area. So it was more than just a punch? With his other hand he tried pulling himself up, using the wall behind him as a prop up, but he was beaten to it, two separate pairs of hands hoisting him up and pinning him to the wall. Asides from those two, there was one other person, cracking his knuckles as he stood infront of Jack. He didn't smile menacingly, start monologuing or what have you... he just started laying into Jack. There was something wrapped over his knuckles, kind of like barbed wire, but finer, cutting into Jack's skin if he was struck in the face. 

Jack didn't stand there and let it happen, he fought the two holding them, at first attempting to shout at them and let them know how much of a dick move this was, that he would kill them for it. But with the blows to his face, he ended up instinctively clamping his mouth and eyes shut, gritting his teeth in frustration as he continued to try to pull away from the two holding him to the wall. 

It wasn't hard. He had a good amount of upper body strength and had one arm yanked free in no time. But no sooner than he had, did he receive a hard blow to the gut, causing him to keel over, coughing and spitting out some blood. Before he could recover, he was pinned up against the wall once more, the man who had been punching him taking a moment to flex his fingers as he looked him over. Jack at this point had his good eye open, and glared at him. Asking the question /what was this guy's problem?/ seemed pointless. What was his own problem, was more appropriate. Letting these nobodies treat him like this. 

“You know, for some reason I expected to strike abs or something... some god like abs you might have preached about to your fan club. A little disappointed to find a fat punching bag.” The assailant gave Jack a pat on the stomach, mocking him as he geared up to start hitting him again. This time however, Jack launched out with his leg, kicking him fairly hard in the side, twisting his body in the process, causing the man to shriek as he jumped back, clutching at what would be a reasonably bruised thigh before long. 

“You know, for some reason I expected you might actually throw a decent punch or something. You trying to kill me, or give me a massage?” Jack scoffed at him, ignoring the pain caused when he spoke. It was terrible. He could have come up with a better jibe than that. Well, it worked in the sense that it pissed off the attacker, who geared up ready to strike him once more. 

“ENOUGH!” 

One voice rang out, calling the attention of all four men. The trio immediately stepped away from Jack, anger and stupidity melting away as they hung their heads in shame at their display of misconduct. Jack stayed against the wall, holding his weight up against it as he looked at Rhys, who stood a little ways off, frowning at the trio. He was silent for a few moment, looking everything over as he figured out what had happened, probably scanning all of them with that fancy eye of his, his arms folded across his chest. 

“You three are dismissed. Assaulting your co-workers is not acceptable. I expect to see you in my office in the morning, to discuss your punishment.”

And that was that. The three trudging off with a simple nod in Rhys' direction like they'd just let down their mother for being caught stealing cookies before dinner. And when they were gone, it was just Rhys and Jack. He expected the younger male to just walk away, leave him to his own devices as per the norm. 

But in the next moment, Rhys was at his side, a hand on his back as he guided him to his room, ready to support him if need be. Jack didn't say a word. As stated before, he would never admit he was lonely,so he wouldn't admit that he wasn't risking pissing the other off and having him leave again. 

When they made it to Jack's room, Rhys sat him on the bed, going to the bathroom to look for the standard first aid kit that came with the package. Jack wondered what his room looked like. It was probably big as a house, full of computers and other nerd material. This room must be dreary in comparison. Except ofcourse for the yellow frame on his desk. 

When he found the kit, Rhys returned, setting it on the desk and opening it to pilfer the untouched contents. He found a clothe and some rubbing alcohol, which he used to start cleaning the small cuts all over Jack's face. It stung as expected, the alcohol working it's magic. But other than that, Rhys was incredibly gentle. Jack watched him for a time, understandably cautious after such an incident, yet, eventually, let his eyes slip shut, relaxing even despite the slight sting that lingered from the alcohol. 

He thought about what had just happened, and how it was likely to happen again if he wasn't careful. Rhys wouldn't always be there to make the mice scurry away. How much of a burden was he exactly unto the other? No... he knew. It wasn't like he cared about causing someone strife in the name of his own welfare. But this was dangerous. If people found out, Rhys could lose everything. If the wrong people found out, Rhys could lose more.

“Maybe you shouldn't have stopped them....” 

The words were a surprise to even Jack. He wasn't entirely aware that he had spoken them aloud. 

“What? Should I have let them beat you to death?”

Jack felt the clothe stop moving against his jaw, and curiously he opened his eyes to see Rhys still standing there, giving him a worried look. Did he think Jack meant he wanted to die? Or what? He couldn't figure him out. 

“Maybe. It'd be easier wouldn't it? If you didn't have to worry about me anymore?” What was with these nerves? It was like he was on the edge a blade, and whatever Rhys said would push him off, or bring him back to safety. Either way, he just needed to know what Rhys thought of it. After all the nagging in the back of his mind about staying or leaving, he hoped it'd put them to rest at long last. And sure, a few days wasn't a long time. But it felt like years had passed in anxious silence. 

“Easier? Sure... but I said you should get a second chance. I'm standing by that no matter what anyone sa-Jack!?”

Rhys exclaimed, cut off by one of Jack's antics... if it could be described as an antic at all. As Rhys had spoken, Jack ended up leaning forward and resting his forehead on Rhys' chest, eyes closed, relief flooding him. Rhys thought he was worthit. So he could stay. It was so stupidly sentimental. It was like he had been given the green light that his life was valid and worth living. Rhys was still for some time, but let Jack remain this way. In the end, he brought his hands up and held him there with a certain sense of care, like he was dealing with something fragile. Jack didn't give two shits about being “fragile” right now. When Rhys started combing his fingers through Jack's hair, not only did it feel good, but he felt at ease. A rare moment of clarity, that he wasn't going to protest. 

When they finally parted, Rhys finished patching up. He made Jack tell him what was bugging him, and the reluctant former CEO discovered it was ok to open up. It got him a fresh hot meal. Soup and bread may have not been a prime cut of steak, but it was wholesome and filling. He was certain if he asked, Rhys would preach about locally grown food items, but he wasn't ever in the mood for an agricultural preaching. What opening up also got him was an unusual argument that forced him in agreeing to talking to someone once a week. Not Rhys, but an actual qualified person. Honestly he would have prefered talking to Rhys, but he supposed as CEO of a small company, he didn't have time to listen to Jack whine or whatever he felt like. It came with a price ofcourse. Rhys had to eat with Jack. Breakfast and dinner. Lunch was optional. But as long as Jack could start and end the day with a familiar face, then he would talk to this therapist or whatever Rhys had in store for him. 

But that wasn't the last of the evening's surprises. When all was said and done, Rhys was saying something in the form of a goodbye. Going on about what he needed to do before he could finally sleep. Jack wasn't listening, somehow fixating on watching him talk instead. What right did he have to have such a pretty mouth. The sound of Rhys' talking died out pretty quick when Jack held the side of his face, touching his lower lip. He was mesmerised, and brought his face close, when he stopped, pulling himself back. 

“I... uh... hi...” Shit. 

“Hi....?” Rhys was confused. Hell, he had every right to be. What was Jack doing? Hell even Jack wanted the answer to that question. But when the older male didn't say a word, holding himself apart once more, Rhys decided it was time to go. He needed to think. 

“I'll see you tomorrow, Jack.... for breakfast.”

“Right... breakfast. In the morning.”

Rhys offered him a parting smile, something marginally better than the cold shoulder from the past week, and then he was gone.

/I like you./

That had been Jack's undoing. The night Rhys found him in his old office. He was never good at this sort of thing, flirting and the like, as much as he boasted about it to complete strangers. Hell, looking back to Nisha, Moxxi and even his wife... he'd been awkward with all of them. Every partner he'd genuinely cared about had made the first move, because he was too busy tripping over himself. 

Given the circumstances, he could count on Rhys not making a move at all, which Jack was thankful for. Life for both of them would be easier if they acted like that moment hadn't happened at all. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, before rubbing his eyes, causing his battered face to twinge in pain a bit. He ignored it. If Rhys brought it up, he could chalk it off as being overtired. 

And with that thought, he decided he might as well get some sleep while he could. Atleast there was one worry gone from his mind tonight. And several others added to the pile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of a larger project. A mix of writing and art. The beginning to this can be found in the link below. Mostly comic and three other written parts. Start at the end and scroll backwards. I'm still working out tumblr, but I will make a master post eventually.
> 
> First part: http://asphyxiate-my-soul.tumblr.com/tagged/orion
> 
> And my tumblr is asphyxiate-my-soul


	3. To Hell With It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Rhys have feelings.

“Is something bothering you Jack?”

With the beckons of a familiar yet not welcome voice, the world his mind dwelt in melted away, and Jack was returned to the present state of time and space. It took him a moment to remember where he was a why, but… Oh, that’s right. This was that phycologist Rhys had brought in. It was easy to pawn it off as being there to help the staff cope, but Jack knew he was her number one patient. 

Dr Sommers seemed nice enough towards Jack. Though he suspected it had more to do with her interest in studying his mind than helping him. She’d voiced as much, saying that she wanted to understand his mind, as to what allowed him to be as insane as he was, while maintaining such a status and sense of power over not just Hyperion, or Pandora, but the other companies throughout the systems aswell. He could have told her the only way to balance insanity and success was sacrifice. Friends, family, ideals… all of it. But he held his tongue. She’d figure it out if she was as smart as her prettily framed degrees said. Atleast she apologized if she had offended him. 

Since that first session, she held her tongue on such matters. Her interests were clear, but she did, afterwards, keep up a sense of professionalism. Jack was now, just any other patient. And since he was really her only patient, she could afford to invest time into making him more comfortable. One of the first things she had gotten out of him, was his distaste in the colour grey that filled his wardrobe and room. Even the battery core where he now worked day by day, was a series of dull greys. And when she asked what colour he wanted to see instead, he couldn’t help but grin. He was bashful about something so trivial. He felt like a kid as he told her he wanted to see yellow. And when she asked why, he shrugged, saying it was just the best freakin’ colour ever.  
She didn’t push it, and Jack was glad for it. She didn’t assume it was because of Hyperion’s colour scheme, or atleast she didn’t voice such assumptions. And Jack didn’t feel pressured into telling her about a yellow dress that caught his eye in college. 

Since then however, her office had obtained some lovely little trinkets, pillows, a throw rug, all in various shades or patterns that featured the colour yellow. That second session between them had been interesting. He took possession of the throw rug almost as soon as he sat down, and to be clad in yellow once again, felt like a relief he didn’t know he needed. He didn’t tell Sommers about it though, because he didn’t need to hear theories about how he a colour made him feel safe or whatever sort of crap it meant.  
She asked him about the scar on his face, how he obtained it… She asked about the iconic mask that used to plaster his face that in turn plastered posters on planets all across the systems. She showed him smaller versions of those posters, all lined out infront of him on the coffee table. She asked him how they made him feel. 

Jack remembered when every single one was created. He looked awesome, badass, godlike!!! Looking at them now… It was like there was an itch he couldn’t scratch, buried beneath layers of skin. That wasn’t him. That wasn’t him. He wasn’t that. That session ended badly. He yelled at her, but he couldn’t remember what. He stormed out on her, but not before he saw her hold a cautious hand towards a Taser she must have thought she had hidden well. 

He missed the intended deadline for their third appointment, too uncomfortable with the notion of returning. Unfortunately, in his time here, he had made an actual friend, who that morning, had heard of his abandonment of the sessions and dragged him in. Said friend sat outside, waiting for him while he and Dr Sommers talked. She had decided to leave his time as Hyperion CEO out of their talks for now, instead asking him about his time on the world where humans once thrived, but now struggled to survive as the planet took over. She asked about the drugs, and Tim. He felt like she was pushing him towards saying something about looking at Tim and seeing himself, but better. He’d rather choke on Bullymong dick than admit that, and eventually his stubbornness won out and she gave up probing for such an admittance. 

But then she asked about Rhys, and that was where she lost him. She was saying something, about what it was like when he and Fiona had appeared. What provoked him into helping them. He was certain there was something deep and meaningful said about being a good person blah blah blah… 

He didn’t care. Jack’s mind wondered to the boy, and what he was doing now? He hadn’t seen him since that night, regardless of their promise. But that was to be expected with how Jack had behaved. He invaded his personal space with the full intention of kissing him. But then he froze, giving them both the time and opportunity to bring their barriers back up. If he could, he would go back to that moment and take the risk, ignore his nerves on a chance that maybe… 

“Jack…?” 

There it was, Sommer’s concerned voice.

“Hm? I’m fine…” Jack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, before rubbing his eyes and dragging his hand down over his face, over the healing wounds from when he had been beaten, and over the thick scruff that adorned his chin, cheeks and upper lip. He barely recognized himself in the mirror, and he figured it was better that way. He looked good either way. “… Can I go now, Doc?”

Jack figured asking was better than screaming and raging out of the room like last time. It was early again, but Sommers smiled and nodded. She seemed happy with anything to be honest. Jack didn’t care, he was given the ok, and so he was up on his feet, saying his farewell and making for the door. 

When he pushed the door open and stepped outside Sommer’s office, Jack was greeted with a bright blue smile, or digital representation of a smile, and a cheery greeting.

“Hey Jack! Time to get back to work?”

“Sure thing Sweat Pea.” He replied with a grin and wink for special effects. 

Since Rhys was a no show to breakfast, and showing Jack to what he would be doing with his time, it had obviously been left to Gortys, who took her new task with great enthusiasm that Jack assumed was all pre-programmed, but liked to pretend was genuine. He was like, 85% sure that it was genuine.

Every morning for the past two weeks, she found him in the kitchens around breakfast, and joined him when he went to work on the core. He was thankful for her company to be honest, for the innocence of it and not needing to talk about the heavy things that weighed on his mind. 

“How did your feelings meeting go?” She asked, cheery as ever as she whizzed through the door, into the room that held his current project, sometime after leaving Sommers’ office.

“There was lots of hugging. And love. It was very heartfelt. I assure you.” He said with a grin as he took his seat. Everything was right where he left it, a mess to anyone else, but a map of what he had figured out, and what he had yet to figure out. 

“Aaw… Can I come in next time?”

“I don’t think Sommers’ll let you. But you don’t need to be at a meeting to get hugs from me kiddo.” Heck, if she wasn’t such an awkward size and shape, he’d pick her up and give her a hug then and there. But he was worried what would happen if he accidentally dropped her. He hadn’t tweaked anything like her acute systems since he worked on the original Clap Trap unit, and that was well before he had grey in his hair.

After giving Gortys a fist bump that promised hugs later, Jack assumed work, while the little robot talked about anything and everything, which mostly consisted of LoaderBot. Technically she didn’t need to stay with him. But she did, every day. It was nice, and Jack felt like it would be a lot harder without her there. Tell him months ago that he would be friends with a small robot with a high pitched voice on a single wheel, and he would have laughed into oblivion. Because it was a joke right? Not anymore.  
Clap Trap was somewhere on the facility, doing something. Thankfully it seemed to be far away from Jack and his work.

Just as Jack was elbow deep in the battery, trying to yank out what he thought was a busted energy chasse, his echo comm pinged, scaring the shit out of him. He swore when his hand came out empty, and he heard the thunk of the chasse falling into some sort of secret place inside the core. Huffing to himself, he answered the call, the blue holo screen appearing over his watch. He was gonna give whoever this asshat was a piece of his-

“Rhys?! I… Hey… what’s up?”

“I was just calling to see how you were going? I heard you’ve been keeping up with the appointments so far.” His voice was distant, forced, but not cold. He was concerned, but keeping himself back from caring too much. Or maybe that was Jack hoping for more than he got. 

“Yeah, about that… you owe me like, 18 breakfasts now kiddo. Where have you been?” 

Yeah, don’t even mention the whole almost kiss thing. It never happened. It never happened. It never happened. 

“Atlas has become demanding lately. I haven’t had the time to spare.”

“Everyone has time for breakfast.”

“Not CEO’s. Pretzels don’t count.”

“Sommer’s really needs to understand what patient confidentiality means.”

“I asked her to report to me, so we can monitor your wellbeing. She is worried about you.”

Jack scowled. That was utter bullshit if he ever heard it.

“If I recall, the only person in this facility who has worried about me, is you pumpkin. See! My wounds are pretty much healed!” Jack exclaimed, gesturing to the still pink nick on his cheek.

“And me!! I worry too!” Gortys chimed, waving her little hand up so Rhys could see it. 

“And Gortys.” Jack nodded in her direction. 90% sure it was genuine. 

“I was worried that the company’s investment in you would be wasted—“

“Don’t feed me that shit! Company investment. Skag piss. That’s not who you are Rhys.”

The younger male frowned through the screen, clearly not impressed with how Jack was behaving. Not that the ex-Hyperion CEO cared. 

“You don’t know me, Handsome Jack.”

“I reckon I know enough. The Rhys who laughed with me in the strawberry patch didn’t care about company investments. The Rhys who climbed through various ruins with and for me didn’t care. Frankly, you didn’t give a damn about any of that before we came here. Even some times after. You care. Just admit it!”

He was gone. Rhys had hung up before Jack had finished, not wanting to hear him rave on, but it only told Jack that he was right. He was so fucking angry at the kid, he wanted to choke the life out of him. But…

//He heard gunshots ring in the distance, so faint, barely there. He didn’t realize he’d seen it before it happened, until he had Rhys against the wall, shielding him from a danger that had not yet arrived. He couldn’t contemplate seeing it, because the way Rhys’ breath caught in his throat distracted him from it. The red blossoming on his cheeks from the confusion of Jack’s actions surprised him. Impending violence wasn’t important. But Rhys was. Afterwards, after the violence, after being flung through space and time back onto this hell hole of a planet, he remembers hearing voices, muffled and painful. But Rhys’ was clear, defending him, the reason he was alive. It made sense to be the reason to live, right? It was ok, to feel like that?//

Jack sighed, sliding off of the stall and sitting on the floor, propped between the core and the wall. He was too old to feel like this. To be absolutely infuriated by someone, and yet so calmed by them at the same time. 

There was a cold, metal feeling at his arms, a light constriction around his stomach. Blinking out of his thoughts once more for the day, Jack saw Gortys, attempting to hug him. He gave a light laugh and wrapped his arms around her loosely. Thank god there was no one there to see him get all nice and lovey with a robot, even if she was precious and adorable. 

“I think you and Rhys need to have a feelings meeting.” She uttered, her usual cheer dimmed. 91%???

///

Jack had continued his work late into the evening, as per the norm. Gortys had been balled in some sort of sleep / power saver mode or something, when he told her to go and spend some time with LB. The bigger bot didn’t like Jack, but on the few occasions he had been in the same space as it and Gortys, it tolerated him well enough. 

But with the little ball of cheer gone, he was alone again, working on the core until he was so tired that when he woke up the next morning, he wouldn’t even remember the trudge back to his room. 

Right now he was toying around with the chasse he had managed to recover before after his little session with Gortys. It was busted. As were the dozen or so more still within various parts of the core. Way to complicate things. But judging from the old, dusty paper blueprints, that he was slowly converting to digital, He could probably forsake so many smaller chasses for One big one. He’d need to take part of the shell of the core off, effectively making it bigger than it had been… he would have to duck when he came in and left the small work space, but it would be more stable, allowing a more consistent and powerful shield. In theory. He’d need to figure out why exactly the original designer of this monstrosity thought to use so many little ones, and how it worked with everything else blah blah blah… his head hurt. 

With a heavy sigh, he pushed the blueprints aside and rubbed his eyes. He wanted to make some progress, a little even, was better than none. But in this state, what could he achieve. 

His ears caught the faint knock of knuckles against the doorframe to his little workshop as it were, the cautious approach of footsteps. 

“… Jack?” 

It was Rhys. He really didn’t need this confrontation. Not in person, not after today. But the older man still pulled his head away from his hands and looked up to Rhys, a glimmer of hope in his eye, albeit he remained careful, not to betray himself and jump the gun again. 

“It’s uh… been a while since you’ve come see me.” He said after a short while, clearing his throat.

“You were right…” 

What? The was what seemed an eternity of silence after that, Jack anticipating and dreading what Rhys was to say next. Jack wanted to rush him, to force the words out into the open air, yet he controlled himself, seeing the younger of the two struggle with some internal battle. Eventually, he continued, eyes trained on Jack, a small smile on his lips. Hopeful. 

“… I do care…” He bit his lower lip lightly, flesh fingers twisting with metal. He was nervous. “… And… the other night, I wanted you to… I’ve always looked up to you. Even when they told us all that you had died, I still strived to be like you. To be someone that achieves as much as you did. When… I met the AI you… the copy, the… fake. I was stupid. I thought it was my chance to prove to the person I admired most that I was worth something, and in the end… all it got me was pain and death… Y-… IT. It tried to kill me. Kill my friends. Because of my stupidity, trusting it… A lot of people died. Helios was destroyed. Everything was gone… When we came back to Pandora, everyone wanted to kill you. They were afraid of you, and I understood exactly why they were. I understand why you shouldn’t be allowed to live… I understand why those men wanted to beat you to death. But what I understand and what I want are two very different things….”

He fell silent again, licking his lips after his little speech. 

“… And what do you want?” Jack was tentative, holding himself back, though he greatly wanted to stand.

“You…”

He saw that coming, he did… but it was still a force that washed over him, overwhelming him. 

“But… You’ve been avoiding me.”

“… I was afraid of what you would think of me. I wanted anything to happen that night, as long as it was more than that. Even though it was you that closed the gap, I was afraid you would think of me differently, for…”

“For what? Liking men? For wanting something for yourself?”

Rhys nodded slowly, his eyes drifting to the side, lingering on the blueprints, colour rising to his cheeks. 

Now there was silence again, both men out of things to say. Jack had never been one to take the initiative when starting something like this. He’d been too shy, too tongue tied and smitten to do anything. Rhys was different. He couldn’t afford to fall back on his own bad habits and expect Rhys to take a stand. Rising to his feet slowly, Jack reached up, cupping each of Rhys’ pale, soft cheeks with his own worn, dark hands, tracing small circles with his thumbs.

Ah, to hell with it.

It took a lot less time than he had expected to close the remaining gap between them, bringing their lips together. He suddenly felt bad for letting himself go, certain that his beard must have felt strange on Rhys’ smooth skin in contrast. 

Not that the young CEO seemed to mind at all infact, his two toned eyes fluttering shut as he gave control to Jack, letting him do as he pleased. Whether this was a good or bad choice remains to be seen, for the moment Jack felt slender fingers in his unkempt hair, matching metal ones resting on the back of his neck, he removed his hands from Rhys’ cheeks, and opted instead to push the boy back onto the bench where his careful map of tools and pieces now scattered. One hand rested upon the dead core, supporting himself, the other held firm at the small of Rhys’ back, supporting him. 

This way, for a change, Jack was taller than Rhys, and in this familiar stance, pressed to deepen the kiss. Control was his and he had his way, soon exploring Rhys’ mouth, eliciting delicate sounds from the other as he traced the roof of his mouth with the end of his tongue. 

Like this, within Jack’s arms, Rhys suddenly felt so small, so delicate. And Jack felt like he had an immeasurable sense of power, a duty to protect something too precious for Pandora. In this way, Rhys reminded him of someone, a face, a name he couldn’t place… not that he cared to at this point, too focused on the person with him now. 

~~~And there it was, a face flickering in and out of view. Screams ringing out across the skies as a shadow at his feet grew in size until that’s all there was, a shadow. He looked up in time, only to see the growing mass of twisted rock and metal before it all went black. ~~~

“JACK!!!”


End file.
